In the value investing world, Walter Schloss is a legend. He did not attend college and was initially hired at the age of 18 as a runner on Wall Street in 1934. He took investment courses taught by Graham at the New York Stock Exchange Institute. He eventually went to work for Graham in the Graham-Newman Partnership, at about the same time Warren Buffett worked in the firm.

In 1955, Schloss left Graham's company and started up his own investment firm, eventually managing money for 92 investors. By maintaining a manageable asset size, Schloss averaged a 15.3% compound return over the course of five decades, versus 10% for the S&P 500.

Schloss closed out his fund in 2000 and stopped actively managing others' money in 2003.

He knows how to identify securities that sell at considerably less than their value to a private owner: And that's all he does. He owns many more stocks than I do and is far less interested in the underlying nature of the business; I don't seem to have very much influence on Walter. That is one of his strengths; no one has much influence on him.